Oct. 31, 2012

Game 17 | Valparaiso (5-7-5, 2-1-3) @ Milwaukee (7-7-2, 1-3-2)
Date	Saturday, November 3 | 7 p.m.
Location	Milwaukee, Wis. | Engelmann Stadium
Live Stats	Gametracker
Media	Watch Live on HLN

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team has just one game remaining on the regular season schedule, hosting Valparaiso University Saturday night at 7 p.m.

UWM Game Notes

The contest looms large for the team in its quest for a spot in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. A victory over the Crusaders will guarantee a spot in the postseason. A tie or loss does not eliminate the Panthers, but they would then need help to secure a spot as only the top six teams in the conference will advance.

Valpo leads the all-time series, 3-2-2, and have had the upper hand of late with three wins in the past four meetings. Last season, UWM dropped a 2-0 decision. Its 2-1 win in OT in 2010 (on a goal by current junior Robbie Boyd) is the only other win in the series for Milwaukee besides the initial contest in 1993.

Live statistics of the match will be available on the UWM website and video can also be seen live on the Horizon League Network.

SENIOR SALUTE
The Panthers will honor their 2012 seniors with a pregame ceremony prior to the start of the match against Valpo. Congratulations and best wishes to John Shakon, Cody Banks and Jamie Bladen.

LAST WEEK
Milwaukee played a pair of games and suffered a pair of shutouts, falling by the same 1-0 score to both Detroit at home and Wright State on the road. That marked the first time UWM has been blanked in back-to-back contests all season and the first since a 2-0 loss to a ranked Northwestern squad back in the middle of September.

STANDINGS UPDATE
Milwaukee has a 1-3-2 mark in Horizon League action and did not do itself any favors by dropping its pair of games last week. It all comes down to the final game, as the five points the team has currently has it tied for the sixth and final postseason spot.

The Panthers are tied with Loyola (1-3-2) and sit just behind Wright State (2-3-1, 7 points). UWM tied the Ramblers, 1-1, in the regular season but still do hold the tiebreaker due to its victory over UIC (Loyola's only win to date is over Green Bay).

With WSU and Loyola also playing Saturday evening, it will come down to Milwaukee getting at least the same decision as Loyola to advance. A victory by the Panthers makes it easy. A tie for UWM and it would also need Loyola to at least tie. Same situation for a loss.

RING THE BELL
Sophomore Laurie Bell continues to be among the Horizon League leaders in points (third with 18), goals (tied for second with seven) and assists (tied for fourth with four, just one off the league lead) following UWM's last outing. In fact, Bell was honored by the Horizon League office Oct. 8 with his second league "Player of the Week" award in 2012.

Bell scored in three games in a row (Aug. 26-Sept. 2) and was looking to be the first UWM player to find the back of the net in four straight since Antou Jallow last accomplished the feat in November of 2004. The goal-scoring streak was snapped at Xavier Sept 9, but he did have an assist in back-to-back matches to record at least one point in five games in a row. The last UWM player to record a goal or assist in five straight games was Zeke Dombrowski in 2007.

POLL POSITION
The Panthers were receiving votes in the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional poll for three weeks in a row, culminating with an appearance at No. 10 the week of Sept. 18. That marked the first time in the regional poll since being ranked third in the November 15, 2005 poll. The team was once again ranked No. 10 in the Oct. 16 entry.

PROGRAM FIRST
For the first time since taking the field as a program in 1973, Milwaukee played four consecutive games that went beyond regulation (Bowling Green, Loyola, Green Bay. UIC). The team had played three-straight OT contests a few times, but the four in a row was indeed a first.

KEEP SHOOTING
The 34 shots that the Panthers recorded at Green Bay Oct. 3 were easily a season-high. In fact, it's just the second time since 2005 that UWM has had 30 or more in a game. The last time a UWM squad recorded more than 34 shots in a game was in October of 2000. That season, UWM put up 39 shots in a 1-1 draw against, you guessed it, the Phoenix.

THEY HAD ALL OF `EM
Speaking of Green Bay and the "Chancellor's Cup", it is one of the three traveling trophies that the Panthers play for each and every season. In addition, Milwaukee takes on Marquette for the "Milwaukee Cup" and also plays Northern Illinois for the "LeWang Trophy". In 2011, UWM posted wins in all three games (2-1 over Marquette; 3-2 in double-overtime against Green Bay and 1-0 against NIU) to hold all three trophies for the first time since the start of the 2005 campaign.

GET OFF THE BUS
The Panthers returned home to host UIC Oct. 6, marking over a full month in between home games for the team after last playing at Engelmann Stadium Sept. 2. The team is 4-0 in Milwaukee so far in 2012 and had not had such an extended run of road matches (six) since six straight in 2004 (from September 13 to October 13).

OFF TO AN IMPRESSIVE START
In the 2-0 win over Wisconsin Oct. 10, Connor Revsbeck became the first freshman goalkeeper to record a shutout in his first collegiate UWM start since Eric Mickschl did so in 2003, a five-save outing in a 1-0 win over New Mexico Aug. 31, 2003.

He one-upped that performance by recording back-to-back clean sheets in his second start against Omaha Oct. 16. That marked the first time that had been done by a freshman goalkeeper since Chris Dadian blanked St. Mary's (1-0), TCU (1-0) and Western Michigan (3-0) in the first three contests at the start of the 1999 campaign.

DEJA VU
The game-winning goal for senior Jamie Bladen against Wisconsin Oct. 10 was his second-straight, marking the first time since 2004 that the same player has been responsible for the game-winner in back-to-back matches. That season, Dan Horst had the winner against UNC Wilmington Sept. 19 and Detroit Sept. 25.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The Panthers have now recorded 278 shots through 16 games this season and lead the Horizon League in shots per game at 17.4. Valparaiso is now second at 14.4.

Following its last outing, Milwaukee had two of the top 10 in the league in the category, with sophomore Laurie Bell tops in the conference with 52 shots. In addition, freshman Aaron Horvat was right behind in third at 44.

SCORING COMPARISONS
The Panthers have had 10 different players score goals and 14 different players record points this season. For comparison, as recently as 2009, those numbers were eight goal scorers and nine point scorers over the course of the entire season.

Also for perspective, UWM scored 27 goals in 18 games in 2011 for an average of 1.5. It had 17 goals in 2011 and had just 12 over the course of the 2009 campaign. At this rate, Milwaukee will score its highest amount of goals in quite some time. The Panthers netted 17 goals in 2008, 16 in 2007 and 26 in 2006. The last time a Milwaukee squad averaged two goals per game or better was in 2004, when it tallied 44 goals in 22 games.

LEARNING ON THE FLY
It may take more than a quick glance at the season statistics to notice, but the Panthers have been playing a very young squad so far in 2012. In fact, freshmen have accounted for 57 starts overall this season. UWM has started as many as five freshmen in a game (Oct. 10 at Wisconsin), with Declan Rodriguez starting 15 games each so far.

THEY LIKE THE "S" IN GOALS
The multi-goal efforts from the Panthers so far in 2012 cannot be overlooked, as they had a streak of four-straight games with at least two goals snapped at Xavier Sept. 9 when they only netted one. UWM has had some high-powered offenses over the years, but the last time Milwaukee scored two goals (or more) in four straight games was the end of the 2004 campaign when it beat Cleveland State (4-0), Wright State (3-0), Detroit (3-0) and #20 San Francisco in the NCAA Tournament (3-2).

89:59
For the second time this season, Milwaukee played in a game where the winning goal was scored as the horn sounded to end regulation, with freshman Pol Narbona thrilling a packed Engelmann Stadium with his goal against IUPUI Aug. 31. His winning goal went into the books at the 89:59 mark, quickly making happier memories of the buzzer-beater after UWM suffered the same fate at Marquette in the season opener.

If you are a fan of late goals, it can't come any later. Cody Banks scored the memorable game-winner against Green Bay last season with just seven seconds left in double-overtime, making it one of the latest goals to end a match (109:53) in recent memory. Since 2000, only a handful has even come close. UWM and Green Bay are familiar with the late heroics, with their game in 2010 decided in the 109th minute in the win by the Phoenix. Looking back, Milwaukee lost a 2-1 game to Michigan in October of 2005 in the 109th minute.

The other contenders? Vermont edged UWM, 2-1, with just 21 seconds left in double-OT in 2010 and Bowling Green defeated Milwaukee, 2-1, back in the 2001 season with just 15 seconds left in double-overtime as well.

FRESHMAN IMPACT
Freshman Declan Rodriguez did not take long to make an impression as a Panther. Inserted into the lineup at halftime of the game against Marquette Aug. 24, he tallied the first goal of his career just 25 minutes later to give UWM a 2-1 lead at the time. Then, against Northern Kentucky Aug. 26, his header off a corner kick tied the game, 1-1, before Milwaukee would go on to prevail.

In doing so, Rodriguez became the fourth freshman since 2000 to score in the season opener, joining Antou Jallow (2001), Adam Skalecki (2005) and Edison Crespo (2010) on that list. He also became just the second-ever freshman to score in the first two games of the season.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played just one exhibition contest against outside competition, falling to DePaul, 1-0, Aug. 20. The Panthers outshot the Blue Demons and had plenty of scoring chances, but could not find the back of the net and a goal scored directly off a corner kick in the 59th minute proved the difference.

VIDEO COVERAGE EXTENDED
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will stream 29 home fall sporting events live through the end of October as part of the Horizon League Network. The 29 events during the first two-plus months of the school year mark just the beginning of an extensive streaming schedule for the Panthers through HLN.

Matt Menzl and Nate Lisko return as the two main voices of Panther athletics in the fall. Menzl will call the majority of soccer matches while Lisko will be the voice of Panther volleyball. In addition to the volume of home events, many of UWM's league road events are also available through the Horizon League Network via broadcasts from the host institution. Live streaming of home events is just one part of UWM's extensive online video presence. The Black and Gold Network - the You Tube channel for Panther athletics - will again provide a variety of features, previews, postgame interviews and highlights. Last school year, the Black and Gold Network produced over 300 video features with more than 50,000 page views. Those broadcasts are produced by the home school, with a full listing of those events available at horizonleague.com.

PANTHERS FOUND THE OFFENSE
Overall in 2011, the Panthers featured one of their highest-powered offenses in quite some time. Their 79 points led the Horizon League, with their 1.5 goals per game (27 total goals) second and 1.39 assists per game ranking at the top of the conference. For perspective, UWM scored 17 goals in 2010 and had just 12 total over the course of the 2009 campaign. The team also recorded 272 shots - a total that also placed second in the league.

COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS TABS BOYD
Junior Robbie Boyd earned some national recognition when the website "College Sports Madness" announced its Preseason All-Horizon League squads. Listed among the 22 members of the first and second team was Boyd, selected as a first-team honoree at forward.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2012, as 16 players out of the 32 on the roster will be putting on a UWM uniform for the first time this season.

In addition to the players that have never put on a UWM uniform before, one addition will be welcomed back. Junior Andrew Wiedabach will return after a season away. Wiedabach has a resume that includes Horizon League All-Newcomer status as a freshman and then first-team all-league honors in 2010 when he led the team in points (13), goals (4), assists (5) and shots (58).

MORE WITH COACH KELDERMAN
Look for a weekly audio podcast of the "Kris Kelderman Show", as we sit down weekly with Kris to revisit the week that was and talk about the upcoming schedule. The first episode was made available Aug. 21 and will follow with a new episode every Monday during the course of the 2012 campaign.

The show is available as a link off the main UWM website page or directly at www.uwmpanthers.cstv.com/genrel/podcasts.html.

ON TAP
If the team advances to the Horizon League Tournament, the first round will be on the road Tuesday, opponent to be determined.